NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(JPN366 @ Aug 1, 2007 -> 09:06 AM) I'd say it might be true. Santana used everybody in the pen except Honel and Russell last night. CB said that nobody was available after Perez came in. That's two retirements for the Barons this year. Jeremy West's was out of nowhere, but Honel just pitched bad this year. It wasn't getting any better. I don't think I saw Honel at all last night. But I can't be sure. It must have just happened, because I have seen him in the dugout this week. Hey JPN- With Gustavo leaving Charlotte, and D Lucy out of the lineup last night... any word on Lucy being promoted? I was expecting that would be the result, but I don't see anything on it yet.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 1, 2007 -> 09:56 AM) Steff, For 2 years, its a no brainer. You sign him. But I would think that Dye would want more years considering where he is at his age. If we could move him to DH, sure again no brainer. The guy can hit. I think he will be able to hit until he is 40. Its how his legs hold up that worries me. How he will hold up in the OF. Dye plays hard in the OF. He doesn't dog it, and as he gets older that aggressiveness might create some nagging injuries. 2 years plus a mutual option for year 3. Seems reasonable. he is also insurance on Thome at DH, as you say.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Aug 1, 2007 -> 09:44 AM) He doesn't work well out of the pen. He pretty much just needs shut down at this point. Fine, shut him down, or do what Steff said. I was more getting at the point that Floyd or Haeger should be the #5 for the rest of the season (and not just one or two starts either - I mean all of August and September, a real legitimate look).

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 09:13 PM) I'd love to bring him back after the season. I was thinking last night, that may very well happen. Looking at the bench for 2008, we'd need a bench player who can cover 3rd, and maybe also some OF and middle IF, depending on what the team does. I'm figuring the 2008 bench will be something like Ozuna (corner OF, 3B), Bourgeois (middle IF), Owens (all OF), Hall ©. That leaves a need for a 3B/1B guy.

Put Jose in the pen for the remainder of the year - they need the help anyway. And let Floyd start. If we are going to have a crappy starter, let's at least let it be Floyd the rest of the year, so we can see if he has the mental stuff do get it done. This year should be a tryout anyway, at this point.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Aug 1, 2007 -> 07:57 AM) Really? Who stands out, as far as talent? I think most of them are made from the same recycled idiots that we have grown to all *ahem* love over the last 20 years. Clinton, Edwards, McCain and Kucinich are all recycled. though I think that McCain and Kucinich both add some value. Lots of new faces though - Obama, Richardson, Biden, Dodd and Gravel for the Dems, and Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, Thompson 2, and Hunter for the GOP. I think Obama is definitely talented, he's new and a fresh face, he has natural leadership skills... probably too inexperienced, but a good guy to have in the field. Richardson brings a real, serious resume for the job. Biden and Dodd are experienced Senators, and at least Biden has been willing to go out on a limb and suggest a pth for Iraq that isn't "stay the course" or "pull out". Giuliani brings a different flavor, being a mayor, businessman and social moderate, which is nice to see. Romney has executive experience. Thompson is definitely unique, and has some positives behind him. And I think there are a number of true believers in there - Hunter, Kucinich, Gravel. And check this out - we have in this race the following firsts... --First serious female contender ever --First serious black contender ever --First serious Hispanic contender ever --First serious Mormon contender ever --First serious contender from a mayoral background, that I can ever recall* To me, that's pretty darn interesting, and I'm a lot happier than I was in any of the other cycles I have voted in (first prez vote: 1992).

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 10:53 PM) Newt's got a HUGE damn closet, bigger then just about any other candidate not named Guiliani. I really loathe our "presidential material" these days... these candidates SUCK. Eh, its a better field than I can remember seeing in my voting lifetime. Yeah, they are all flawed, and most are less than stellar. But I think we actually are taking a step forward this cycle in terms of available talent, compared to the last few cycles.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 10:52 PM) Where's that rolly smilie? Come on Balta. Even from you, this is trash. Go back and re-read this, and you'll hopefully see what I mean. If not, I'll explain... but you're better then this crap. trash? I think that was one of the most well-written, well-reasoned posts regarding the war I have seen yet. I think he makes soem excellent points, especially about the cost and scale, and what else we could be doing with that money (like saving millions of lives, or, getting off foregin oil, for example).

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 08:02 PM) We have one of the best education systems in the world. It isn't racist to believe that 12 years in this system will qualify someone for a better job than someone who was educated in a third world country. Currently over one hundred shrimp boats are sitting in harbor and not fishing because the Labor department is now refusing the work visas they have approved in the past. There are jobs for almost a thousand people. It is for four weeks and required you to live on board the boat. Ads have been placed in newspapers all over the country and almost no takers. Meanwhile, the workers who have been working those jobs for decades are sitting 25 miles away, in Mexico, ready and willing to work. The American shrimpers and screwed, each boat carries about $40,000 in fuel so the fuel companies are screwed, wholesalers who really on those shrimp are screwed, truckers, etc. http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/shri...ers_season.html Is this what you want? Where are the American workers willing to work for three weeks for damn good pay? That isn't an argument for allowing illegal immigration - its an argument for changing immigration policy to fit economic need, which I would love to see.

July update on Mr. Miranda... Getting settled in Kannapolis after a quick promotion from Great Falls, Miranda's numbers came back to reality a bit in July. Here are his totals thus far at Kanny (which is basically July for him): AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS .257 29 113 22 29 1 2 1 14 37 15 14 4 1 .349 .327 .676 Note the highlighted numbers and categories - one big negative, and one big positive. The negative is slugging - he has a total of only 4 XBH in 113 AB's (1 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR). On the other hand, despite a .257 average, he is getting on base at a .349 clip - he has actually walked (15) more than he has struck out (14). With his speed, he may be a potential leadoff hitter in the future. So overall, Miranda seems to be doing pretty well, considering he was just drafted a couple months ago and is now at A- (at age 20). He is also hitting .294 in his last 8 games, including 3 of his 4 XBH's. Keep it up, Sergio!

Well, since the big club has everyone sad today, its a good time for the month-end AAP updates... Po-Yu Lin's July numbers came back down to earth a bit, but were still very solid. Here is his July line: W-L: 3-2 ERA: 3.63 G: 7 GS: 6 IP: 34.2 H: 37 ER: 14 HR: 4 BB: 9 K: 38 WHIP: 1.33 GO/AO: 1.20 AVGA: .268 A bit high on hits againts, but a 1.33 WHIP, an ERA of 3.63 and a K/BB ratio of 4.2/1 is nothing to sneeze at. His season totals thus far are now: W-L: 4-2 ERA: 2.95 G: 9 GS: 8 IP: 42.2 H: 43 ER: 14 HR: 4 BB: 9 K: 46 WHIP: 1.22 GO/AO: 1.31 AVGA: .257 Still looking good. Depending on how the next month or two shake out in the system, don't be surprised if he gets a promotion to low A.

QUOTE(SoxFan77 @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 04:04 PM) I did.. There is no reason to be disappointed.. Its not like he can never come back.. Towers is not going to pick up his option, if he wants to bid his services for the sox next year.. welcome back.. He should be excited about a chance to make the playoffs, not bummed that he is going to a winner. It amazes me how some of you have this bizarre impression that players are robots or video game characters. Have you never felt a bit said leaving a job, even if you were moving on to good things?

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 03:46 PM) They don't have to be traded, a simple release would do nicely. They are completely useless to this ballclub and do nothing but take up space. Agreed. Pods and Erstad go, Sweeney comes up and maybe someone else. Let's give what we have a look, and promote some lower level minors guys to the higher ranks and see who shakes out.

QUOTE(kwolf68 @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 03:36 PM) This was nothing but a Kenny Williams dog and pony show...because he couldn't get anything substantive done, he make this bogus trade so someone would talk about him. Dude. Come back to reality. Agree or disagree with his moves, KW isn't some 4th grade dropout.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 03:30 PM) What is Marte doing this year? (And I know its awesome, but for years people wanted to dump marte for anything cause of his control problems. It just goes to show that people on this board arent exactly nostradamus) Marte was shown the door for a lot of reasons beyond his abilities. I certainly hope no one thinks we got the bad end of THAT trade. Mack played a significant role in his time here, and Marte was a complete head case.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 03:25 PM) and the bullpen (also known as the two spots where everyone knew KW had to upgrade). Not only that, but the prospects for next season look even worse than this year. It's conceivable that the only way we can compete next year is if we spend a fortune in the FA market. I think he took a chance on the pen, one that many agreed with, and got bitten. I don't put much blame on him for that. And as lousy as the minors look, they are better right now than they were a year, or two years ago. I just don't see how he takes that much of the blame, beyond the LF/CF debacle.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 03:16 PM) KW should be fired for this season, but it won't happen. This organization is in shambles in terms of personnel. puhleeze. He sure as heck made some mistakes, but I blame the folks on the field a lot more than Kenny for this year. Look at the personnel areas where the Sox went bad... the 'pen, most people felt would be inconsistent but not this bad. The hitters not living nearly to their typical numbers? The injuries? I'm sorry, but KW is pretty far down the list of people whose heads should roll. Start with some of the players, and some of the coaching staff as well. And as for these deadline deals, the Gooch deal was fine, and I don't blame him for keeping a now-hot-hitting Dye instead of trading for Wily Mo and a not-great prospect (sounds like they took Delcarmen, et al off the table). The Mack deal, well... there I have to agree. ETA: One thing I do definitely blame KW for and agree with you on is the LF/CF situation this year. That was, far and away, his biggest screw-up.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 03:10 PM) Forgot about that. Maybe something came up? Hopefully... Or, ESPN thought something WOULD come up, and it didn't.

I have to say this looks a bit weak for a return on Mack. The Dye move or not making one I get, and the Gooch move I get. This one, though, seems like maybe KW got ripped off.

QUOTE(Linnwood @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 02:33 PM) Dye to be live on ESPN2 momentarily. Wow, that's definitely unexpected. Could mean lots of things I suppose.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 02:30 PM) Cubs are after Dye now... According to...

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 02:28 PM) Wow. I guess nothing can be done before next season........... Don't get in the way of a patented Soxtalk panic train - you might get run down.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 02:21 PM) A fourth place team with a top 5 payroll and this is all that happened? I think we should wait until around 4pm central to get the whole picture - then we'll know what all went down.

QUOTE(WHITESOXRANDY @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 02:16 PM) I'm hearing that we got a catching prospect named Roach. That would be an explanation for why Molina was released and Lucy wasn't promoted.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Jul 31, 2007 -> 02:03 PM) Dye - Rowand - Owens. If its those three, Dye is in RF and Owens in LF. Owens has played a lot of LF, Dye has a stronger arm, Owens has more speed.